Joy of life
by Van Vision
Summary: AU, ZoSan, angst/romance/drama. Sanji has lung cancer and is slowly dying. He loses all his hope. And then, one particular marimo appears in his life, and wants to show him that the world still can be a beautiful place.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hah, my first multi-chapter fick in English. Hope you'll like and enjoy it! I dedicate the whole story for my beloved KareKazeshini and Dicodin. I also want to thank IshiIchiMari for being my wonderful beta. Love you all.

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><p>It was mid afternoon when Roronoa Zoro, a green-haired man, entered the enormous building of St Joseph's Hospice. He had been a volunteer here since he was twenty-two and he never once regretted his decision. His friend, Saga, talked him into it, and now—after four years spent here—Zoro was really grateful to the man. He liked, no... he <em>loved<em> being here—helping those in a great need of having someone near them and making them feel less lonely. By coming here he felt like he was doing something important, good.

He approached the reception and leaned on a tabletop.

"Yo, Camie," he said to the girl standing behind the desk, "what's up?"

"Hi, Zoro," she greeted him with a sweet smile. "Nothing new, everything's the same as always. Here's your ID." Camie gave him a plastic card with his name, surname, photograph and a big inscription saying _VOLUNTEER_ on it.

"Thanks." He started walking away but he was stopped by the girl.

"Zoro, wait! I forgot to tell you something!"

"Huh? What?" He turned around and looked at her, raising his eyebrow.

"Saga said he wouldn't be here today and asked if you could look after the patient he's taking care of. His name's Sanji Black, room twenty-three on the second floor."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Roronoa smiled and went to the locker room.

He undressed, slid the ID card into one of his pockets and checked what was yet to be done and who should be visited. He had a lot of tasks at St Joseph's Hospice; he cleaned and spent time with patients in many different ways—if there were kids, he played games with them, read them books or went for a walk. If he looked after adults—he mostly talked and listened to them or just was by their side so they weren't alone. He gave patients their medicine after it had been prepared by nurses or doctors. He helped their families dealing with the great pain of someone they loved being terminally ill. He told them how to treat them, how to talk to them and how to give them their support. Sometimes he was also assigned to take care of only one person. He loved this part of his work the most, but also hated it in the same time since it always hurt so much when they died.

Zoro didn't have his "own" patient anymore because the little girl who was under his care passed away two weeks ago. For the green-haired man that was something horrible since he had known her for almost six months. He really got used to the kid; she was innocent and truly amazing due to her never-ending optimism and happiness, despite of her serious condition. She always smiled and laughed from the bottom of her heart even when she was in terrible pain. She walked around the hospital and talked to everyone that seemed sad, saying things that gave them hope. For Zoro it was just something incredible. She had so much strength and willpower in her, that it looked almost unrealistic. Her death was a big loss not only for him but for other people, too.

He sighed quietly and looked at the schedule again. Everything was done for now so he decided to check on this Sanji guy. Zoro wondered what kind of person he was. Depressed? Happy and enjoying every day as much as he could? He had no idea—Saga refused to talk about hospice and people living there after working hours. And when men were working they never had enough time to exchange any words with each other, they were just too busy.

Zoro walked towards the room number twenty-three and when he finally got there, he knocked twice and, not receiving any response, peeked in. He saw a tall, pale and slim man with blond hair sitting on a windowsill. Something about the man hit Roronoa—the fact that his aura was a mixture of depression, anger and total indifference. His facial expression was melancholic as well as apathetic. Some would even say he looked almost bored. Leaning his head against the cold glass, he looked out the window with an empty gaze.

The very moment Zoro saw him, he knew the blond was this type of a person who had lost all their hope—they didn't want to live anymore, they didn't see any reason in fighting the illness; they just didn't care about anything at all. Observing patients like Sanji made Roronoa sad and hurt.

After a while, the green-haired decided to step in the room.

"Hi," he said with a little smile, "I'm Zoro, one of the volunteers here." The blond didn't glance at him, nor did he say anything. He just kept looking out of the window with invariable face. "Saga won't be here today. He asked if I could take care of you, so here I am." Roronoa informed the blond, still not getting any answer. "I hope you don't mind that little change, do you?" Silence, no response. Zoro started considering the possibility that the other man was deaf or mute. He tried to draw him into a conversation once more. "Your name is Sanji, right? How old are you?"

Sanji Black finally gave him a quick glance. He had only one visible eye—the other one hidden behind a fringe—which was blue, dark and utterly matt. Their eyes met only for a few mere seconds, though, since the blond almost immediately turned his stare at the window again. Zoro got the message. He was seen as an intruder and a nuisance, and he didn't like that. The guy's attitude quickly started to get on his nerves. He hated when people treated him like that—insolently ignoring him—without saying a word. The blonde could have said something like "leave me alone" or "I don't want to talk to you" or even "get the hell out", he could have said _anything_, and that would be okay. He could have pointed at the door giving him to understand he was unwanted—that would do fine, too. But remaining all silent and motionless, ignoring the person who came to help, was just... Just... Well, unfair and inappropriate.

He collected his cool and sighed. "Okay," he said, "it's time for your medicine so I'll go get it and be right back. Do you need anything?" Once again, he received no reply. He slightly clenched and unclenched his one fist. "Fine. Think about it and if you need something, tell me when I'm back."

He left the room and started thinking about the blond. He wondered if he was always like that or it was just because Zoro was a stranger? Did Sanji act differently around Saga? Did he ever smile? He truly wanted to know.

He stopped in front of the door with _NURSE__ ROOM_ sign on it and knocked.

"Please, come in." Roronoa did and greeted a lady in her mid-forties with a nod. "Oh, good afternoon, Zoro. What brings you here?" She asked.

"Good afternoon. I'm here to take medicine for the patient, Sanji Black, who lives in the room number twenty-three," he answered and quickly added, "I also want to ask a few questions about him."

"Mister Black?" The lady seemed a little surprised. "Why? Isn't Saga taking care of him?"

"Usually, yes, but today he couldn't come so I'm in charge instead."

"Oh, I see, I see... Fine, I'll prepare the pills." She got up from her chair and approached a big, glass cabinet. "So, what do you want to know about him?"

"Um," Zoro wasn't quite sure what he should ask first, "why does he live here, for example?"

"Well, mister Black has lung cancer," she replied in a sad tone. "He went through one operation and a couple of sessions of chemotherapy but, unfortunately, none of it helped... He has year and a half ahead of him, maybe even less."

The man put his hands into his pockets and shifted back and forth and bit his lip slightly. "Does anyone visit him?"

"Not really." The woman put four pills on a small, white plate and handed it to Zoro. "There are those two young men who do visit him, but it's really rare. The first one, who is mister Black's childhood friend, comes once a week and the second, I believe he studies medicine from what I've heard, once per two or three weeks..."

"Does he have no family or what?" Roronoa was surprised. Only two people visited him? And so seldom? What kind of friends were they? It was like they left someone they consider as "dear" just when the said person needed them the most?

"He does not."

Well, that seemed like some kind of explanation why the hell Sanji was so gloomy, depressed and even angry. He was all alone, he didn't have any support, not counting those two friends of his and Saga. Maybe it was also the reason why he was so withdrawn and reticent.

"Is that all, Zoro?" The lady asked.

"Oh, yes, yes... Sorry for disturbing and thank you for your time." The green-haired wanted to leave but the last question popped in his head. "No, wait, I need to ask something else. Is Sanji always so... Silent? Do you know anything about that? Is he mute?"

The nurse laughed. "No, no, he is not. From what I know, he indeed is silent. He isn't the talkative and social type, but mister Black isn't mute. He usually spends all day in his room doing only four things: reading books, sleeping, laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, and looking out of the window."

Zoro nodded to himself, said good-bye and left the woman's office. He came back to the room number twenty-three and found Sanji exactly in the same position as he had left him—sitting on a windowsill with his head leaned on the glass. He reminded Roronoa of a marble statue—frozen, unchanging, lifeless. And it was so, so sad.

"I'm back," he said, not really expecting any response. "Here, your medicine." He came closer to the blond-haired man. "Take it."

"Don't want it."

It was the first time Sanji had said anything and it greatly shocked Zoro. To his surprise, Black's voice was very pleasant—soft and almost soothing.

He stood there stunned and speechless for a longer while but finally stuttered out, "W-what?"

"Are you fucking deaf, stupid moss-head? I said I. Do. Not. Want. Any. Fucking. Pills."

Okay, he changed his mind. The guy's voice wasn't pleasant at all.

"And I do not care if you want or don't want them," Zoro growled and handed the plate with medicine to the blonde. "You _must_ take them. _Now_. And I am _not_ a moss-head!"

Sanji shot Roronoa a death glare. "I won't take them," Black declared. "And of course you are, shitty marimo. Just look at your fucking hair. What normal person would dye their hair _green_, for God's sake?"

"Better look at your eyebrow," he pointed to the funny curled eyebrow. "And my hair is not dyed..." Zoro grumbled. "It's natural. I have a genetic defect... Wait, why do I even tell you that?" He narrowed his eyebrows looking a little confused. "Nevermind. Take the pills."

"You even have a brain of marimo, you're so dumb." Sanji snorted and went back to looking out of the window.

Roronoa used all his willpower not to strangle the blonde. Seriously. The first moment he saw the man, he felt nothing but sadness and compassion. Right now, though, when he looked at the other, he wanted to punch him in the face. That dart-brow was insolent. Ungrateful. And acted like some smart ass. It really pissed Zoro off.

But nevertheless, he was still a patient, an ill person who waited for death. He had to calm down.

"Take. The. Pills." He insisted, drawling each word slowly.

"If I do, will you leave me alone so I won't be forced to look at your shitty face?" Sanji asked in an irritated voice.

"If you want to get rid of me so badly—I will. Just take the fucking medicine already."

"Fine." The blonde took all four pills and put them into his mouth. Zoro watched as Sanji swallowed them and then gave the green-haired man a cocky smirk, yet a little forced. "Satisfied? Yes? Then get the hell outta here and don't you dare come back."

Roronoa growled angrily, muttered something under his breath and finally left, leaving Black alone. Sanji sat unmoving for a little while staring at the door and listening to see if anyone was coming. When he felt safe and not observed, he hopped off the windowsill and approached a wardrobe. As he opened one drawer he begun to search something among his clothes, finally pulling out a little plastic bag filled with numerous amount of various pills—white, blue, pink, yellow, big and small ones. He moved it closer to his lips and spat out the medicine he had been given by Roronoa. He always did that, almost automatically: taking pills, hiding them under his tongue, pretending to swallow them and then, when nobody saw him, getting rid of them from his mouth. No one ever suspected a thing.

Sanji put the bag back to the drawer and searched again, this time taking out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He checked if anyone was coming one more time and, being assured that he was safe, opened the window, put a cigarette between his lips, lit it and took a long drag.

"Naive fucker," he whispered and closed his eyes.

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><p>Zoro was going home and couldn't stop thinking about the lean, blond-haired man he met today. He just couldn't. Sanji was all over his mind and he was unable to concentrate on anything else. In his mind he still saw the sad, empty blue eye, the indifferent face. He also remembered how the blonde had treated him and how much he had pissed him off. But even those two facts couldn't stop his thought wondering around the other man.<p>

He felt as if he was being drawn to him in some strange way, and he wanted to help him, get him out from this depression state. Sanji also simply intrigued him.

That's why Zoro was so mad at himself, for letting the blonde to drag him into this little game of his; for not being strong enough to resist, and for letting his emotion flow the way they wanted.

He kicked the can that was lying on the ground and grunted. He needed to know more. He _wanted_ to know more.

He pulled out a cell phone out of his pocket, selected a number and pressed the green button. He didn't have to wait long to hear a man's voice at the other side.

"_Hallo?"_

"Hi, Saga, it's me. Hope I don't disturb you or something."

"_Oh, hey, Zoro. No, no, we can talk. What's up?"_

"Well, I know you hate talking about this stuff when you're free from work and all, but I need to ask you about this guy I was looking after instead of you, Sanji Black."

"_Goddamnit,__ Zoro,__ couldn__'__t__ you__ have __called__ me __for __some __nicer __reason?__"_ Saga growled. _"__Especially__ if__ it__'__s __about_ him_.__"_

"Huh? Why? You don't like him?" Zoro was surprised. His friend had never said anything bad about people under his care, so he thought everything was well. It seemed he was wrong.

"_Don't like him? Hell, Zoro, if I could, I would—I don't know—strangle him to death or smash his head on the wall! I fucking hate this guy!"_

Yes, he was utterly wrong. Saga's voice sounded mad and Roronoa could almost see a steam puffing out of his ears.

"Erm... Really? Why? Is he so bad?"

"_Jesus __Christ,__ I__ can__'__t __stand__ him,__ I__ get__ pissed __off__ by__ only __seeing__ him__ or__ even __thinking __about__ him!__ When __someone __says __his__ name __I__ almost __go __on__ rampage!__ I__'__ve __never __met __someone__ so __unbearable __as __him,__ Zoro.__ He__'__s __an__ ungrateful __bastard,__ who__ doesn__'__t__ even__ know__ such__ words __as__ '__thank__ you__' __or__ '__I__'__m__ sorry__'__.__"_ Saga was barely controlling himself, trying not to shout to loud.

It was worse than Zoro thought. He supposed that Sanji was so impolite towards him because he didn't know him. But he was wrong, again.

"Was he like that when you first met?"

"_Well, yeah, but a little bit nicer... Only a little. At the beginning I wanted to get to him, make him smile, talk, whatever. I was patient and all, I believed he could change and the way he acts is because, you know, he's dying. But no, he hasn't changed at all. I would say it's quite the opposite—he's even worse. I gave up on him. Sure, I come to him, bring him medicine, but I don't spend time with him, I don't try to talk to him. I even avoid looking toward his direction. Seriously, Zoro, he's a devil in human's body."_

Then suddenly an idea hit him—popped in his head out of nowhere. He grinned widely and said in a happy voice, "Then, why don't you let me take care of him?"

"_Roronoa, are you deaf, stupid or crazy? Or maybe all in one? Haven't you heard a thing I've just said?"_

"I have, that's why I want to look after him even more."

"_You__'__re__ out __of__ your __mind.__"_ Saga sounded shocked.

"Yeah, probably..." Zoro laughed lightly. "So what, wanna put him under my charge?"

"_Ya sure?"_

"Absolutely."

"_Fine, you can have him. And may God have you under His care."_

"Thanks, but I don't believe in any God."

Zoro smiled like Cheshire cat and felt so damn excited as he had never been before.

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><p>Hope you all liked it! Now I'm off to start writing the second chapter :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Oh God, I've finally managed to write it. Sorry for taking so long ;A; But now it's here and I hope you'll like it!

And, as always, big thanks and mass love spam for my beloved beta—IshiIchiMari—as well as all my Readers and friends who support me. And thank you all for your revievs and favs, too, you're wonerful. I love you all!

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><p>Zoro woke up early in the morning. He was damn thrilled and curious at the same time. He wondered how Sanji would react at the sight of him. Would he be shocked, angry, or maybe he wouldn't care at all? Either way, he couldn't wait to see his face.<p>

The moment he opened his eyes, Roronoa swore to himself he won't lose his cool today. No way. He wouldn't let Black drag him into his game. He planned to be so nice and polite so that Sanji was going to be the person who would get pissed off this time. And he was going to talk. A lot. He wasn't the talkative type, but this time he wanted to sacrifice himself for the greater purpose. Yes. Zoro was going to bore Sanji to death or make him go nuts or make him change his attitude. Sounded like a plan.

He put on a loose T-shirt and trousers, a pair of comfortable shoes and went for a jog. He liked taking some laps in the nearby park in the morning, just when not too many people were walking around. He didn't jog often so early, though, since he preferred to sleep. Zoro loved sleeping as long as he could; he also liked taking naps during the day. But a little exercise like this from time to time probably wouldn't hurt him.

Six laps later he decided to come back home, take a quick hot shower and eat something. He searched throughout his fridge to find anything eatable. He could prepare scrambled eggs... Or better not, whenever something he had made touched a pan, it almost immediately got burnt. He put the thought of preparing eggs aside and looked for something else. He had cheese. Green cheese. And some ham, which was suspiciously slimy. And... What the hell was that stinky thing? Did he have any bread at least? He looked around. Nope, he didn't.

"Oh, well," he said gloomily, "whatever, I'll buy something later." He shrugged and glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. "Time to get going and start the game."

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><p>Sanji expected to see irritated Saga in the morning, giving him pills and changing bed sheets like every Friday. He expected to see the man who, luckily, refused to talk to him, or even look at him. The blonde was cool with that and didn't want to change it.<p>

But he would have never imagined to see him—that stupid, annoying marimo, with oh-so-big forehead, three gay-ish gold earrings in only one ear and that idiotic smile on his face.

Sanji stared at the man standing in front of him with pure desire to kick his sorry ass in his one visible eye.

"Yo, curly-brow," Zoro said happily, grinning. He was holding clear white bedding in his arms. "How are you feeling today?"

Black was silent for a while, still not believing what he saw. Didn't he tell Roronoa not to come back?

Damn it, he didn't like him, not even the tiniest bit! Couldn't he just get out of his—already fucked up—life?

"Where is Saga?" Sanji asked coldly; an unfriendly, wary sparkle appeared in his blue iris.

"He's looking after someone else, I believe." Zoro shrugged and acted like it was so normal and obvious. "From now on, you're under my care. I know you're happy."

What? No, that was not possible. He didn't want the damn moss-head to be his "guardian". Not in million years. He preferred Saga, at least he was less dumb, didn't talk much and didn't bother him almost at all, so the blonde had peace and quiet.

Did it mean he had to say a good-bye to his calm days spent alone?

"As if," Sanji snorted and folded his arms. "I bet that Saga bastard's just ill and he'll be back sooner or later."

"No, he's not. He's just fed up with you, that's all; and he passed the _wonderful_ duty of taking care of you onto me. Isn't that great?"

Zoro observed Black carefully, trying to perceive any sign of greater emotions. He was unable to, though. Sanji seemed a little angry, but only a little. Aside of that, he was still surrounded by the aura of sadness and indifference. Nothing more, nothing less. The green-haired man was definitely going to change that.

"Whatever." The blonde murmured, sat on the windowsill and looked the other way. Just the sight of that grass-head idiot made him want to puke. "I didn't like him anyway. Not like it's the other way around with you, shit-head."

Zoro just smiled a little goofily and started changing the bed sheets since Sanji was sitting on the windowsill, which seemed to be his favourite place. The blonde was looking out of the window, but from time to time he shot him a quick glance. He still didn't believe it; how that Saga fucker could do this to him. He would kick the said man's shitty ass later. Fucking betrayer.

But, goddamnit, what's done cannot be undone. Saga was gone and he was stuck up with marimo unless the idiot decided to leave him. And he knew it wasn't gonna happen so early. Most of the volunteers here were stubborn as hell and mostly were unbreakable. You could yell at them, hit them, and say shit about them. They wouldn't give up.

Sanji wondered if Zoro also had so strong willpower. Was he able to put up with him and his behaviour? Was he able to endure all the insults and whims?

Black smiled to himself. Fine. If he wanted to take care of him so damn much—fine. Let's see how tough he was.

"Oi, algae," Sanji said and Zoro turned his head to him, "bring me something to eat, I'm hungry."

"I'm not an algae, curly-brow." The green-haired man snorted. "What do you want?"

"Anything's fine. And if you call me 'curly-brow' one more time, my foot will say 'hello' to your dumb face."

"You can try if you want." Zoro shot him a cocky smirk and headed to the door, but he stopped before exiting the room. "Uh, what do you want to drink? Tea, coffee, water, juice?"

Sanji thought for a moment and then replied, "Cappuccino."

"Okay."

Zoro left the room and then cursed under his breath. The hospice's canteen didn't serve cappuccino. It was a problem. He supposed he would have to go and ask personnel if they had some. And what if they didn't? Hell, Black would have to deal with it. Oh, and the medicaments. He needed to get them.

Meanwhile, Sanji sat on his bed and sighed loudly. He didn't like what he was going to do, but he didn't have any other ideas. He was going to make Zoro crazy. So crazy he would stop coming to him and 'taking care of him'.

He ran his hand through his blond hair. He hated people like this. So lively and way too nice. It was all fake, so damn fake. All of them came to him because they _had_ to, not because they actually _wanted_ to. He didn't want it. He didn't need it. All of the pity, the insincere smiles and words that were supposed to cheer him up.

'Bullshit,' he thought bitterly and lied down, curling knees up to his chest. 'All of it.'

He believed—he knew—that Zoro was no exception. He could bet Saga just asked him to look after him because he'd had enough. After over a year of insults, mean looks and being pushed around... Sanji wouldn't be surprised. But he had to admit that the Saga bastard was tough—he put up with him longer than anyone had before.

He stayed like that until he heard a worried voice behind him, "Hey, are you alright? Does something hurt?"

Oh dear God, wasn't he even allowed to lay down for a little while? It was his fucking room and his fucking bed after all; he could do anything he pleased!

Black clenched his teeth and surpassed the desire of kicking Zoro right in the middle of his stomach. "I'm fucking fine, jackass," he growled.

Zoro sighed with relief, "Good. You're so curled... I thought you were in pain." He put the plate with food and pills on the night table as well as a blue mug containing cappuccino.

The blonde ignored his comment and sat up, glancing at the simple breakfast in front of him. Really simple. On the white porcelain were two slices of bread covered with butter and blackberry jam. Sanji raised his eyebrow—was it all the hospice's cook was capable of making? As far as he remembered breakfast looked different here...

"I'm sorry," the green-haired man said, noticing Black's confused look, "I know it's nothing amazing... The man who's the cook here had a break so I had to prepare something myself, and, well, hah, uh, my cooking level's below zero." He laughed a little nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes, indeed. The bread isn't even nicely sliced, not to mention the overload of butter... I don't mind it, though, but..."

"But what?"

"I'm allergic to blackberries," he said looking at Zoro.

"Really?" This time it was Roronoa who raised an eyebrow. He was sure that Sanji wasn't saying the truth. Or was he? Would he lie to him about food? Naw, he wouldn't... And what if... Hell, whatever. Even if he was, he wouldn't mind it—after all he was supposed to be super-nice and loving. "I'll go to make something else, then. And, before I forget, take your medicine."

"I thought I made it clear yesterday that I don't want any—"

"Take it and I'll leave thirty minutes earlier," Zoro interrupted.

Black considered it. "An hour."

"Forty and no, I won't leave fifty minutes earlier."

"Fine." Sanji agreed. Snorting, he took the pills and put them into his mouth. Reaching for the bottle with water near his hand, he took a draught from it. Zoro smiled and left, taking the plate with him. As soon as Roronoa wasn't in the room, the blonde spit out the medicine to the plastic bag.

'I need to get rid of this,' he thought and hid the bag under his sweaters and dress shirts. 'At least the shitty marimo is brainless.' He returned to the bed and leaned his face to the mug with cappuccino. He sniffed and noticed Zoro had put a spoon of sugar in it, even without tasting the hot drink. 'I'm ashamed of myself, wasting food so much... And I promised him I would eat anything I was given... The old geezer would kick the life out of me if he saw what I was doing...'

But he had to do. He had to make Zoro leave him alone.

"I wish Usopp was here so we could talk," Sanji said to himself resting his chin on his hand.

"Usopp? Is he your friend?"

Black turned around and shot Roronoa a death glare. He hated him. Oh, he hated him so much for many reasons but mostly for being a total idiot. Did he always have to come in during the most inappropriate moments?

"Maybe," Sanji growled. "It's none of your business."

"Calm down, dart-brow, I was only asking." He snorted and handed the other man a new set of sandwiches, this time with cottage cheese and honey. "Here. Is it better now?"

"Well, yeah..."

"But...?"

"The cappuccino. It's too sweet. I don't put sugar in anything—tea, coffee, cappuccino, chocolate. And, wait. Wait. What the hell did you do with the previous portion?" Sanji looked at him carefully.

"Erm," Zoro was confused due to the sudden question, "I put it... on the 'leftovers' window... In the canteen?"

"W-What!" Black snapped, jumping to his feet and pushed his index finger into the green-haired chest. "Are you fucking crazy? How dare you, bastard!"

Zoro was very surprised at this unexpected outburst. He stared at the blonde with eyes wide open, not understanding what his problem was. Wasn't it normal to leave things like that by leftovers window? He always did.

Well, at least he achieved something, somehow. Sanji showed something more than his casual indifference, sadness and shadows of irritation.

"What the hell?"

"Go there and eat those sandwiches immediately! Right now! Before someone throws them out!"

"What? Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because you cannot simply waste food," Sanji said angrily and very, very slowly, just as he wanted to be sure that Zoro was able to understand him, "so you will go there and fucking eat what you have prepared. Understand?"

Roronoa furrowed his eyebrows but then remembered what he had decided that morning. He had to be calm and nice even if he hated it to the bone.

"Well, whatever," he murmured shrugging, "I haven't eaten the breakfast anyway."

"Y-You idiot! Imbecile! Fucking moss-head! You really don't have a brain, not even the fucking smallest one! Don't you know that breakfast is the most important meal during the whole day? Shit! Go there and fucking eat those fucking sandwiches!" He pushed him out of the room. "Oh, wait a sec." Sanji went back to get the mug and shoved it in the other man's hands. "Drink it as well. And prepare me another mug of cappuccino, this time without sugar. Now, go!"

"Fine, fine... Sheesh. I don't see your point, though, curly-brow..."

"Shitty idiotic grass-head."

It didn't take Zoro long to return to the room number twenty-three with a new cup of cappuccino. He also held those unfortunate sandwiches. He sat on a chair nearby the bed, placed the mug on the night table and started eating; glancing from time to time at Sanji. The other man was once again an indifferent statue with one visible matt, sad eye, sitting on a windowsill with a book in his hands. _All Blue_, the title said. Roronoa had no idea what the book was about, he had never heard of it before. To be honest, he didn't read that much. And when he did, the books he chose were from Japan—the place he was born.

"So... what's wrong in leaving uneaten food by leftovers window?" Zoro asked.

Black shot him a quick glare and replied in a calm, cold voice, "People all over the world are dying from starvation and lack of water, and you ask what's wrong with wasting food?"

"Ohhh, now I see your point!" The green-haired rubbed his chin. "Yeah, you're right. I've never thought about it that way. Now I won't do it again... I think."

"You better not. If you do—I'll find you and fucking kill you."

"I doubt it, but fine, you can try." Roronoa grinned and took a bite of sandwich. As Sanji said—it was butter-overloaded. He kept eating anyway. "So, what are you reading?"

"Nothing you would be interested in," the blonde replied and turned to the next page.

"How can you be so sure?"

Zoro received no reply. He supposed it meant that the blonde was back to his "mute jerk" mode. Giving a clock in the room a glance, he noted he had to spend here three more hours or rather two and some, after taking away those forty minutes. They still had a lot of time. So far he was nice, he didn't get angry—not on the outside at least. He was able to make Sanji pissed off, just as planned. He had also a chance to eat a free breakfast... Summarizing, everything went well. And now the only thing he needed to achieve was forcing Black to talk.

"So... You had mentioned a guy named Usopp before. I suppose he's your friend, right?

"I told you, idiot, it's not your business," Sanji growled.

"Ah, c'mon, you can tell me."

"Of course I can but I fucking don't want to. So shut up 'cause you're disturbing me." He shot Zoro a death glare and went back to reading.

After a while, the blonde jumped off the windowsill, took the plate with food, came back to his previous sitting place and then started eating, everything without stopping the lecture for even one second. He kept silent, lost in a beautiful world of written words.

Oh, how Zoro hated his attitude...

"Tell me about your friends," the green-haired asked, "what are they like?"

Silence.

"Fine, I get it—not questions about friends, sheesh. You're no fun, you know?" No reply. "So, maybe tell me about your favourite type of books?" Silence. "Genre of music? You seem like a person who likes classic and jazz as well." Silence, only another small bite of a sandwich and a sound of page turning. "Okay... What movies do you like? Comedies? Romantic stuff maybe? Don't tell me you like horrors because I won't believe it..."

Zoro kept on asking different questions and moving a lot of topics for another ten minutes—he asked about favourite food, if Sanji had been ever abroad, about the date of his birth or even about the reason he wore a dress suit. With the every next question he received no answer, though, but he was able to see Sanji was getting more and more angry. He noticed little twitches as well as that his fingers hold pages more tightly than before. It almost seemed the blonde was going to rip up the book.

"How about—"

"Can you shut the fuck up for the God's sake?" Sanji interrupted and finally looked at him. His visible eye blazed up with anger for one mere second; it disappeared, though, leaving only an irritation.

Zoro thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. Then he smiled widely and answered, "Um... Nope."

The green-haired man wasn't the type who liked to talk so much, but this situation just required it. If one of his friends saw him right now, they wouldn't believe their own eyes since Roronoa preferred to listen or simply pretend to while taking a nap.

"W-what?" Black made a surprised face. This stupid marimo was...was... was too insolent! Arrogant! Who did he think he was?

He felt like kicking him right in his idiotic face. Or even better—exactly between his legs. Maybe that would teach him how to behave properly. And, what more, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. He'd just literally kick him out of his room and the problem would be solved. Yes, that was a good plan.

And when he was about to approach him, Zoro started talking again.

"Okay, so if you don't wanna talk about yourself, I will," he said, looking extremely proud of his decision. It worked. It really worked. He was able to make Sanji pissed off not once, but twice. Quite an achievement.

"N-no, I prefer not, shitty marimo, you don't have to—"

"I was born in Japan," Zoro started enthusiastically, "in a small village my mother came from. My dad is American, though... We moved here when my mom died when I was two or something, I don't even remember, with my cousin and mom's brother. My dad works as a policeman..."

"Stop it—"

"He's pretty cool, you know, and is such a huge guy, really!" Zoro did a move with his hands to emphasise his father's "hugeness". "He's about twice as me, I swear..."

"Oi, fucker—"

Roronoa laughed in his mind happy that this method was really successful. He doubted it at first, thinking Sanji'd stay as a motionless, emotionless statue as always. That he'd—maybe—mumble something under his nose about how stupid and annoying Zoro was. But no, he actually wanted to stop him from talking, and it was great. Somehow the green-haired man found it funny to irritate Black and he didn't know why. It just was and it came out almost naturally like he had been doing it for ages.

Screw the fact he hated talking about his private life! What he saw—Sanji's annoyed look, tightened muscles, a dangerous sparkle in his eye... It was absolutely worth it, without any question.

Totally ignoring the blond, he kept on babbling. "I like watching criminals, yes, they're great. But I'm never able to guess who's the real killer, I always fail at it... About the books, I read mostly Japanese ones, especially to not forget the language. Oh, if I did, my uncle would kill me for sure..."

"For the last time, Roronoa—"

"And I love swords, they're my passion. I teach kendo to kids as well as adults. I aim to be the best one, to win the world's championship and..."

At this very moment the green-haired grabbed _someone_'s long leg that wanted to hit his right side of the head. He was surprised of how much power the blow had—he almost fell from the chair. He looked up and saw Black's mad face and anger flickering in his blue iris. And he liked it. This had shown that Sanji was still alive, that he had some sparkle of life deep within him and it just had to be taken out by someone.

"I thought," the blonde growled, his teeth clenched, "I had told you to shut the fuck up, didn't I, shit-head?"

"It's a free country, I can do whatever the hell I want, curly-brow," Zoro smirked. "And I had no idea you have any muscles in this tiny, thin body of yours."

"You! I will kill you!"

The blonde managed to pull out his leg from Roronoa's grip and struck again, but he failed. The other man made another block with his forearm and his smile grew wider and became cocky.

"Ya sure?"

Sanji couldn't stand it, his patience lost its limits. He was so angry at this bastard. Saga was annoying as hell, too, but he knew his place here—this damn broccoli-head didn't.

He attacked again, this time scoring a blow to Zoro's stomach and knocking him off the chair right to the floor. This surprised the green-haired, again. How was it possible that someone so ill and thin was so strong?

Seeing the next attack coming he rolled to the other side and then heard a loud _crack_ sound. He glanced at Black, or rather at his long leg which almost hit him and noticed a break in the flooring. He gulped.

'Oh, shit,' Roronoa thought, 'I don't wanna know what'd happened if he actually managed to hit me.'

He stood up quickly and jumped back just in time, dodging the next blow. Sanji was fast and pissed and he had a serious kill intent hidden in his eye... That was not good—why was it so much fun anyway?

The only real problem was the crack in the floor...

The blond kept on kicking as Zoro was dodging. He'd love to fight back but couldn't because if someone saw this, he would be done. Hell, they'd sue him anytime. So, instead of counterattacking, he suddenly grabbed Sanji's leg that was about to hit him again and also one of his hands.

"Wha-what are you doing, bastard! Don't touch me! Let me go!" Black shouted.

"Only if you calm down," Roronoa said.

"As if, idiot! Let me go! _Now_!"

"You're so damn stubborn and annoying as hell." Zoro sighed deeply and moved to the bed with the other man. "If you think you can break me—you're deadly wrong."

"Let. Me. Go! Pervert! Molester!" He yelled as the green-haired laid him down and pressed him against the mattress with his own body. "Perverted shitty marimo, get off me or I'll fucking kill you! Shit!"

"Shout as much as you want, dumbass, it won't help you. You can have pretty powerful legs but I'm much heavier and have stronger arms. In this situation, you're defenceless and stand no chance."

Black struggled like crazy wanting to free himself. He kicked and even bit but Zoro didn't back off, he didn't even flinch. He was like a strong, indestructible, unmoving rock.

Slowly, Sanji's blows became weaker by every minute and less and less ferociously and Zoro noticed he was getting tired—his breath was quick and a little too unsteady, he coughed three or four times and after some more time he eventually stopped moving. He only lay on the bed, exhausted, and looked at Roronoa with pure hatred.

"I. Fucking. Hate. You." The blonde panted heavily.

Zoro didn't react and waited a little more until he was sure Sanji calmed down completely, and then sat next to him.

"The deal is," he said finally, "if you don't talk to me, I'll keep babbling about everything I can think of. If you converse with me like any other normal person would, we'll chat at some proper level. And, for your information, it doesn't matter how much you struggle, kick or bite—I just won't break, run away and stop talking or coming here. Hell no. Maybe it's your room but you do not own the whole place and furthermore you're just a normal patient, thus you _must_ obey some rules even if you don't want to." He glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's time for me to go. I'll see you tomorrow." He gave the other man a big smile and walked out of the room. And just when Sanji thought he'd been left alone and he'd have some peace and quiet, Roronoa peeked in the room once again. "I forgot to tell you one important thing," he said with a serious expression on his face. "You're an idiot." After those words Zoro smiled again and then he was gone.

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><p>Hope it was good and you enjoyed it even a little :)<p> 


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